


Frost Bitten Fingers

by JD_Kitten



Category: IT (2017)
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-09
Updated: 2018-01-11
Packaged: 2019-03-02 14:02:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13319667
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JD_Kitten/pseuds/JD_Kitten
Summary: Living in the roaring twenties with all the grace an actor can possess should be an easy one. The trials short and trivial, meaning nothing and having no way to interfere with a rich man's happiness. Unless you were one of the people who rolled across the Atlantic and plunged into its frozen depths in April of 1912.Eddie is an actor, Richie is a pianist. They met for three days and think one another to be dead as of that fateful night of the Titanic's sinking.





	1. Introduction

**Author's Note:**

> Here I am with an unoriginal Titanic AU idea. I just really love Reddie so I want to write something for them really bad... Enjoy!!

Eddie stepped onto the empty stage, gazing out at rows and rows of empty velvet covered seats. The stage was his first home, the one that he longed to be on more than any other place in the world. The click of his shoes against hardwood flooring echoed through the darkened auditorium, a mock form of applause to greet his every step. He frowned, clapping his hands together just to listen to the reverberation. One last pleasant sound to his ears before taking a seat at the edge, swinging his legs over the orchestra pit. He made friends who worked there, casual conversation just to make working with them easier. The more the orchestra and actor got along, the better the chemistry their performance together was. He traced his fingers along scuffed stage edges and hummed a tune he only vaguely remembered from his childhood. A young pianist played for him three days in a row, several times over that course. It was one of the only memories he enjoyed from his teens. Now a young man of twenty-six, he had to move on and make something of himself beyond a Titanic survivor. Unfortunately, it was all the opera house managers were willing to talk about these days. With this Eddie was forced to constantly live through that April no matter how he wished he could erase that entire year all together.

“-And as I said before, mister Hanscom, my pianist cannot work below the conditions he has already set out for you!” A woman that Eddie knew to be Beverly Marsh all but shouted as she entered the theater with its master in tow. Benjamin is a man of high status and the quality of the performances within his house only proved he deserved a title. ‘The best that America had to offer’ or so the New York Times would claim. Eddie didn’t bother to read any newspaper these days, on one hand he didn’t take criticism from strangers very well and on the other he felt there was too much news on murder for him to feel anything more than depressed when reading an article. There was a heavy pat on his back that caused him to flinch as he turned to see Beverly smiling down at him. “Hello Kaspbrak, how’s the most proper boy in NYC today!” She teased, a grin naturally curving the edges of her lips. Eddie only rolled his eyes and pulled himself up from the edge and dusting off his pants. “You’re as bright as ever Bevvie,” With a sigh he backed away to the left wing of the stage. Beverly and Ben exchanged looks of worry, they’d all been friends for a while but there never seemed a time where Eddie was truly happy, even on stage, since April of 1912. Of course they knew why but while Eddie was always unwilling to talk to them about his experience, there was no way to try and help him work through his slump.

The mention of a piano player dragged Eddie’s attention to the grand piano near the outer black curtain. A melody was playing in his head that he still couldn’t escape, once again he was humming to try and ease out the lyrics from his memory. It seemed as if the young asthmatic couldn’t do anything against its assault to the walls of his mind. He ran his left hand along the top surface, admiring the shine of light along its flat expanse though his frown remained as he thought back to his time on the Atlantic. The pianos were all Steinway grands, anchored to the deck floor with three metal rods to keep the piano from moving on rolling seas. The rooms were kept at a constant temperature to ensure the tuning of each piano was kept in alignment. But even the best kept rooms were cold in that time, Eddie knew the older women refused to wear the lavish frocks in exchange for furs in order to keep warm. The water was ice, the ice burned to the very touch. The skin on the palms of my hands rip away as I try to grip the large blocks of ice seeming to stand in place to avoid the sea carrying me off. Hell has no heat to compare to the pain of frostbite coursing into my fingers..The young singer pulls his hand away from the piano as if it were scalding hot, breath coming in short uncontrolled bursts. These were the memories he wanted to avoid more than the others, the night he almost died to the elements. But he was constantly surrounded by triggers to the events of his teenager life, thankfully on the inanimate objects rather than living people who also survived the tragedy. Eddie wasn’t sure he would be able to hold in emotions around someone who experienced the same horror, the same agonies. The one man he thought he would be able to survive with in that time was gone, so there was no use in dwelling on hope for his return from the bottom of the sea. Still, even though the hope was lost, Eddie smiled to himself at the very thought of Richard Tozier.


	2. Slice of An Actor's Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There isn't much to say about this chapter, just a look into what Eddie does with his life before he goes on his voyage.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't think I would be able to post so soon! I'm usually so bad at keeping up with my writing. But the fact that there were already five kudos in the first 12 hours of the first chapter being up really encouraged me to start working on this again! I have a lot of DnD campaign work to do though, so I should start focusing on that. (Making an adventure for my finacee, so that'll be pretty neat!)   
> I hope you enjoy this little bit, I wouldn't consider it filler as much as I would set up to see a little of who Eddie is as a person in this day and age. Anyway, I hope you enjoy! Thanks for the support!

The applause thundered over the stage and flowed into the wings, beyond the backstage door and even further into the dressing rooms. The cast and crew were all sharing their own merriments with clinking glasses and jokes that no one outside of their rooms would understand. Eddie didn’t bother to try and join in on the conversations, getting out of his costume and back into his own clothes that were of similar fashion. Into one set of black trousers and suspenders and into another, Eddie spent hours arguing with the director about wearing his own clothes to take time away from getting ready. There was always a refusal for the things Eddie recommended doing in a play, the directors respected his ability but not his person. “And that’s what it means to be a woman.” He mocked the other actors of the play, a joke they made in light of the play itself. Rutherford and Son was something popular this year in England, every many jumping for the opportunity to play the role of a stubborn capitalist. Eddie wasn’t yet old enough to take on a ‘man’s role’ so he auditioned and received the part of young John, a lazy college student who went against his father’s wishes to become a chemist and marry a working class woman. When he received the role, Eddie’s mother said no more than three words of ‘Sounds like you’, and then ignored all of his calls and letters on the subject. 

As an aspiring actor, he moved away from America to live in England with his aunt Rosaline to pursue his desires. Eddie Kaspbrak was known all across England as the talent his generation needed. His first performance on the stage was as an infant, carried around as baby Jesus by his own aunt who played the role of Mary. She would whisper words to him off stage about how he would always find a home on the stage and to own that shine he gave off. He took her words to heart and focused more on theatrics than he did on his education. At the thought of her, the young American grabbed the photo he kept of her from its place on the vanity and ran his thumb along the frames edge. The door to his room burst open and laughter bounced from every wall, irritation raised in Eddie as three adults came waltzing in. “Aw little Yankee, what are you up to alone in here?” 

“He doesn’t know how to have fun.” Huffed the only man of the three, the smile that ran across his lips was unsettling. Jerimiah Colt was one of the top rated actors of England, playing the role of Rutherford for the current play. He was full of himself because he knew he could get away with that toxic kind of attitude, everyone was in love with his skills and how he carried himself. The money helped too. Jerimiah reached over to ruffle the young boy’s hair but Eddie jerked his head away and faked a laugh. “It’s not that,” He tried to defend, but one of the actresses cut him off by reaching for the photograph of his aunt. She cooed at the photo and then offered a sympathetic look to Eddie. “Are you upset that your aunt isn’t going with you on the voyage tomorrow?” She looked genuinely concerned for whatever feelings Eddie seemed to be having, but the boy himself didn’t care much for her worry. “What has he got to worry about? He’ll have big bad Colt with him the whole way.” Jerimiah joked, shoving at Eddie with another laugh. His accent was Cockney, nothing like what he presented on the stage, the more he listened to it throughout a day the more Eddie grew to hate it.

“Oh that’s right! The ship they’ve been making in Belfast is finally ready to set sail, you’ve been invited to go little Yankee?” There was another thing he found annoying, the nickname of ‘Little Yankee’. Eddie forced a tight smile. “My aunt is sick, so I was given her ticket. It was supposed to be her and Jerimiah.”

“As much as I would have loved to spend a trip over the Atlantic with dear Rosaline, having her nephew as company is just as nice.” Jerimiah hummed, turning on his heel with a flare to head back out of the room. “I’ll be sending a car for you by eight in the morning to get us to the train, make sure you’re looking as beautiful as usual.” He teased, the two actresses following him out of the room. Eddie felt his whole body relax when he was finally alone again. He wasted no time to put on his coat, make sure all things were in order, and leave his dressing room. The theater halls were still lively with the cast, crew, and audience members alike. Eddie wanted nothing to do with socialization at the moment however, so he swiftly left the building altogether and headed home. 

**

The seagulls overhead annoyed the dull headache that pounded in the back of Eddie’s brain. The stage may have been his home, but the later performances of the night always grew too loud and left him a tired mess. Jerimiah chatted his ear off all the way to the docks, from the car that morning and the train that got them to Southampton from London. Any hopes he had of a quiet morning were out the window the moment they stepped out, men shouting back and forth about ship mechanics he didn’t bother listening about, and the bustle of families departing from one another for the voyage. It was all too much, now Eddie’s main focus was to get onto the ship and lay down for a couple of hours.   
He looked the dock over before he allowed his eyes to finally rest on the beast of a boat. They called her the Titanic, Jerimiah had said, the best of its class and labeled unsinkable. The anxiety rose in his chest at the idea that they even had to label it that way, there should be no need if there wasn’t a worry for it. The boat had been in the Southampton port for six days for all checks and services to be made that ensured it would make a safe journey to New York. Jerimiah led the way to the loading site, Eddie held onto his hand so he wouldn’t get lost among the crowds of women in their fanciful gowns. Everyone was gossiping about the latest, whispering about one another with words of venom, before they all got aboard and became instant friends. This was all too much for Eddie to handle. “Jerimiah, please tell me we’ll be going to our quarters immediately to take a rest.”

“Oh lord, no! There’s so much to see within the ship, and there’s lunch to be had Edward!” Jerimiah was over joyed with the idea, always a man who talked from his stomach first and brain second. Still he let himself be dragged onto the ship, they showed their tickets and then to the saloon deck for lunch. Eddie made a small note that there were second and third class places that he technically was not allowed to be around, according to his companion, but would be sure to investigate in his own time. It was a marvelous ship, Eddie would admit that much, but he had no intention on looking around before he got his rest. They would be making stops in France and Ireland before they truly set off to see, and Eddie decided to take those two stops to rest up. The voyage would be long, he could enjoy all the fancifulness it provided over the course of the week. Now he just had to suffer through lunch at Jerimiah’s side before freedom could come to him in the form of soft linen sheets and the sounds of the water outside his window.

Once he was free to do as he pleased until dinner, Eddie rushed up a few decks to deck B where his room was at. He threw the doors open to B58, a room close the private promenade on this deck where his aunt was likely to be if she were with him on the trip. All of his luggage was already put away into the wardrobe, the bed’s dressing was crisp and clean. Everything looked lovely and Eddie took note of the velvet floor that was sure to be in the other first class bedrooms. There wasn’t much talk around him, most of the adults still at lunch or in the smoke rooms, somewhere Eddie wouldn’t dare to enter at his own will. He removed his vest and loosened the suspenders attached to his trousers as a way to get comfortable. Then he was at the window, opening it with ease and taking a deep breath. There was a calming feature that salt water possessed, Eddie would be lulled to sleep in no time. So until Jerimiah surely came to bang on his door demanding that he make himself present among the others, Eddie slipped off his shoes and pulled himself into bed. Just as he hoped, the smell of the sea and the rocking of the boat lulled him into a rather peaceful nap. Maybe even with the absence of his aunt, his best friend, he could find something to enjoy on the trip back to America.


End file.
